Today was the day, the day that I would go out with the guy that I was actually so invested in. I hated that I couldn't share my excitement with Em and Charlie but I understood what it felt like to hide who you truly are and I didn't want to make anything harder for him.

He had decided to take me to this place that he used to go as a kid with his best friends, it was apparently a beautiful, peaceful, and private lake about a mile walk into the bushland at the back of Pearlacre, he had sent me the address, wanting to meet me there so no one would see us turn up together and as much as it sucked for me, I could tell how much he hated it as well.

I park my car and see his car in the lot, there was no one here yet so as soon as he sees my car, he's out of his and waiting for me with that attractive smile on his even more attractive face.

His brown hair swayed a little from the breeze and his blue eyes sparkled as they made contact with mine.

"Hey," he grins.

"Hey," I grin back, allowing him to hug me.

"Ready to go? I can't wait to show you the lake," he grins.

"Hell yeah, better be as good as you've made it out to be," I reply back jokingly.

"Oh it's so much better," he grins.

I laugh at him as he takes my hand in his. I hate the butterflies that erupt in my stomach, you'd probably think I was a fucking virgin who had never been touched if you knew how my insides felt right now.

I might not have been a virgin in any case, but I had definitely never felt the way I do about him with anyone before. I knew that he had issues, I knew about his past but that didn't bother me, I respected him even more for going through something so horrific.

I also knew that he might never love me the same way that he loved her before but again, I didn't mind, I would cross that bridge when and if we came to it.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, by the way, I know this place is special to you," I smile appreciatively.

He smiles happily, his eyes still sparkling; "thank you for letting me," Miles replies.

Detention was hell, if I thought their petty argument in the office about me sitting on a chair was bad then it was nothing compared to the pointless arguments in detention. Right now the boys were in some kind of petty, childish, alpha battle and I was the prize.

At the start it was things like them arguing over who's pen I borrowed to do my homework or who would help me with it (I was smarter than both of them so this was even more useless), then it got to things like who had the most fun with me or who I spent more time with.

Their argument and competition were so incredibly childish and egotistic but at least they were acting like 4-year-olds who competed for the teacher's attention instead of beating each other up like the 18-year-olds they were and I considered that a win.

When Mrs Harwood came in to let us go I don't think I had ever been more grateful to escape a room with the guy I was in love with and one of my best friends than I was then. That obviously turned into them arguing over who would give me a lift home because Charlie had taken me to school today, I ended up calling Robert and asking him to pick me up on his way home from work, then that turned into an argument on who would wait with me until he came so I ended up sitting in between them for the longest 15 minutes of my life while I listened to them bicker about why it should be them that waited. Needless to say that when Robert did show up, I got into the car before it even fully stopped.

Now I was lying in bed cuddled up in between my brother who was on his phone and Nala who was sound asleep. I had just finished reading another chapter of my book and waiting for Dale.

I adored Lij, he and I always spent time like this together, so often he would come into my room and get into bed with me, we wouldn't even speak but we were together and after losing 1 sibling, there was nothing more important to me than Lij and I spending time together.

I hadn't opened my blinds for what seemed like ages, I hadn't actually opened them since I saw him making out with Katherine and I hated how I wanted nothing more than to open my blinds and just see him.

I hear Dale's voice downstairs and my mood lightens, Lij also hears it and races downstairs to see him. I follow, Dale was talking to my mom and Robert about the diner.

"Dale!!" Lij enthuses.

"Hey man," Dale grins, holding out his knuckle.

I grin at my best friend, he sees me and grins back.

"How was work?" I question, going over to him to give him a hug.

Dale's smile brightens, "best shift ever."

I laugh at him, I mean at least he enjoyed working right?

"Alright mama, Robert, we're going up to my room," I grin.

"Can I come?!" Lij begs.

"Of you course you can buddy, lie in between them for me," Robert winks.

I laugh at him, so does Dale. It was interesting to me how Robert wasn't really that protective over me when Dale was involved, he jokes about it but I've never gotten the impression that he was ever worried about anything.

I knew that Dale had never felt like Robert didn't trust him and at this point, it was all just a joke, I adored Dale for that.

"Come on Eli," Dale grins.

Lij smiles as well as the 3 of us make our way upstairs to find something to do.

We end up watching movies, even playing card games with mom and Robert and it's one of the best nights that I remember, and even better, I don't think of Aiden the whole night.

***

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!! YOU'VE FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO EVERYONE!!" Dale yells, waking me up.

I sit up quickly, my heart pounding with the sudden wake-up call. Dale Laughs hysterically at my frightened look and I hit him on the shoulder but end up laughing with him.

"Dale, what time is it?" I question.

"It's 11:00 am babe, I woke up at 9:00 and I was waiting for you to wake up but you were just taking too long!! Also, I got sick of beating Eli at Xbox," Dale winks.

I laugh at him, I didn't usually sleep in for so long but at least I had a good sleep.

"It's your birthday!! Charlie is the only 1 left now," Dale grins happily.

"You seem more excited than I do!!" I laugh, Dale just grins as I grab my phone off the nightstand, I'm not sure what I expect but it's definitely not having no 'happy birthday' notifications apart from a Facebook one. I look at my phone in confusion, I at least expected a message from Miles, Amy, James, Toby, Carter and maybe even Aiden and Blake, but nothing at all.

Before I get time to overthink anything, my parents come barrelling in my room followed by an excited Lij and an even more excited Nala, although I was pretty sure that she was just excited because Lij was.

"Happy birthday baby!!" My mom smiles, kissing me on my cheek.

"Happy birthay Emmy, I'm very proud of the beautiful young lady you've turned out to be," Robert grins, kissing me on my forehead. I smile at my parents lovingly.

Lij climbs on my bed excitedly, Nala follows quickly; "open mine first!!"

I laugh at him, taking the box from his hand and unwrapping it. I smile when I open the box and see a photo frame with a picture of Lij, myself and Nala cuddled up together asleep. My mom must have taken it some time. Lij also passes me another small box, I open it to see a first edition Harry Potter book. I knew I already had the set but a first edition book was everything to a reader. My heart warms at my brother and excitement settles at the pit of my stomach.

"Thank you so much Lij," I say, kissing him on the cheek. He grins as I pull him into a hug.

"Do you like it!?" He questions excitedly.

"I love it," I reply grinning.

Lij's grin grows impossibly wider.

"From Robert and I," my mom grins, handing me a small envelope. I open the envelope and see a $150 gift card for the local book store.

I hug my parents excitedly, my family knew me so well.

"Well, I got you something to but it's not book related," Dale grins as he slides a box out from under my bed and passes it to me. I can't help but wonder how long it was there. I give him a curious look and take the lid of the box.

Sitting in the box was a bright red satin dress, I take it out of the box to have a look at, and whilst it's not something I'd usually wear, I wish I was confident enough to. The dress was short with small slits on either side, there were satin prints in various places. The dress was backless and very strappy with straps to hold it up, the front of the dress was just as nice, it would show just enough cleavage with the strategized neckline as well. It would be skin tight and extremely noticeable but I couldn't help but love it.

"That's lovely," my mom grins, Robert doesn't look so impressed with the limited material but I had to agree with my mother. Lij looks interested but he doesn't seem to have too much of an opinion on it.

"You're going to wear it tonight," Dale grins. I see my mother smile from the corner of my eyes but I'm sure I just imagined it.

"All we're doing is going out for dinner with Charlie and Luke," I grin.

"I know but we want to dress up and look nice at the restaurant!!" Dale grins back.

I eye the material again and want nothing more than to be comfortable wearing it, I mean I doubted I would see anyone I know anyways so why not put on a confident and bold facade for others to actually notice me for this one night.

"Alright," I grin, excited to put the dress on later.

Dale cheers, "hell yeah!! Can't go back now though," he winks.

***

I wish more than anything I could go back. The dress was absolutely stunning and it hugged every part of me like a second skin, it was shorter than I initially thought and also showed more boob. I had to admit though, it looked good on me but the dress screamed 'notice me', and thinking about having dinner with everyone looking at me made me nervous.

My grandparents, auntie, and uncle, and a few other relatives called me to wish me a happy birthday, even Ang did but I still hadn't gotten any messages from my friends, I had to admit I was a little hurt but I knew I'd get over it. Thankfully my father hadn't tried to contact me so if anything went right today, it was that.

It was now 5:30pm and we were meeting Charlie and Luke at Charlie's house at 7:00, apparently they could only get a late booking for the restaurant but I didn't mind, Dale made me eat a few minutes ago saying that it would be an even longer wait for food and the birthday girl couldn't be hungry. I laughed at him but did as I was told.

I had wanted to try the dress on before I got fully ready and that's where we were right now.

"I swear babe, keep this up and I might actually turn straight, I think we'd make a pretty cute couple," Dale winks. I laugh at him, he never failed to make me feel good about myself and make me laugh.

"Is it too out there? I mean if I wear this I'll definitely get more attention than I'm used to," I admit nervously.

"You might notice it more but I doubt you'll actually get that much more attention, I don't think you realise how much attention you get now!!" Dale explains laughing.

"I'm serious," I groan nervously.

"So am I baby, you look fucking amazing and that's what you're wearing so how about you take that little thing off and we start doing your hair and makeup," Dale suggests, well more like demands.

Sighing, I agree. I slip out of my dress and put back on my sweats, my bra, and Dale's jumper.

Dale grins at me before he makes me sit on a chair away from any mirror, then he grabs all the makeup I own which to be fair, isn't much, and begins working.

An hour later and a lot of hair-pulling and close calls with my eyes, Dale announces he's finished.

"You ready to see how fucking amazing you look?" Dale grins.

Nervousness sits in the pit of my stomach but I nod hesitantly. I stand up and Dale makes me close my eyes so he can lead me to my bathroom where the light was bright and a huge mirror was connected to the wall above my sink.

"Open them," Dale says and I can actually hear the excitement.

I open my eyes and physically gasp. The girl standing in front of me was me, but a much better-looking version. The girl had gold eyeshadow on that blended into red, her eyelashes had been coated in so much mascara that they actually looked like fake eyelashes and her lips were painted a bright red that matched the bright dress. Her hair was out and the ends were curled, the front parts had been pulled back into a braid that blended in with the hair. The girl looked amazing.

"Dale this is amazing!!" I admit, staring at myself in the mirror.

"Baby, you're already stunning, all I did was highlight your features," Dale grins.

I don't say anything, I just keep staring at myself. Dale leaves the bathroom, a satisfied smile on his face as he grabs my dress from the hanger and passes it to me to put on. I do wordlessly, in all honesty, I couldn't wait to see how the dress looked with my hair and makeup.

Dale whistles at me when I manage to slide the dress on, he helps me tie up the strappy parts that held my back.

"You look so good!!" Dale grins.

I grin back, actually confident with myself for once, "thank you, Dale, for everything."

"You're so welcome baby, ready to get some shoes?" He replies.

I groan, I hated knowing that there was no way Dale would let me wear anything but heels. He passes me a half-decent, strappy gold pair and after some hesitation, I take them and put them on.

The shoes just tie the whole outfit together and I instantly know that there was no way I leaving the house in anything but these heels which to be fair, weren't uncomfortably high.

"Ready?" Dale smiles, handing me a small gold bag.

"As ready as I'll ever be, where are we even going for dinner?" I question, taking the gold bag and putting my lipstick in it along with a few other things that I might have to use to touch up my makeup.

"I actually have no idea, some fancy new place that Charlie wants to try," Dale replies.

"Alright, let's get this over with," I sigh, laughing.

Dale grins at me and grabs my hand, in these heels, he was only a couple of inches taller than me. Some time throughout me putting on my outfit and staring at myself, Dale had also gotten changed into blue denim ripped jeans, a plain white shirt and a denim jacket of the same color. Usually I wasn't sure about denim on denim but Dale rocked it. I wondered though why he was wearing denim instead of a suit jacket if we were going somewhere so fancy but I was too in awe of the turn out that I don't ask.

"You both look amazing!!!" My mother grins as soon we walk downstairs, slowly so I didn't trip down the stairs in these heels.

"I know," Dale sighs jokingly.

I laugh at him along with my mother and even Robert.

"I just have to take a few pictures," my mom grins and I groan, a few pictures was never a few pictures.

Dale and I stand together as mom takes pictures, she makes us stand in various places and I was already getting sick of these heels. Finally, the photo shoot ends.

"Alright baby, happy birthday and have fun tonight!!" My mother grins.

"But not too much fun," Robert adds, "call us at anytime Em, I have a badge and a gun and I'm not afraid to use either."

I laugh at Robert, I wish I could say he was joking but that would be a lie, besides, we were only going for dinner.

"Goodbye, love you," I smile, kissing my mother, Lij, and Robert on the cheek and practically dragging Dale to his car.

Dale laughs at me; "I fucking love your family babe."

I roll my eyes, the smile evident on my face, "so do I."

We arrive at Charlie's at exactly 7:03 and I call her to let her know to come out, she answers straight away.

"Hey."

"Hey, Dale and I are here, come out."

"I'm not ready yet, I can't decide between these 2 pairs of shoes and Luke's not helping, can you and Dale come in just quickly? I'm sorry!!"

I laugh at my cousin, this was expected of her, "yeah, we're coming in now."

"Thank you thank you, I love you."

"Love you too."

I hang up the phone and look at Dale who looks at me expectantly; "she needs our help on what shoes to wear, she wants us to go in quickly."

Dale laughs, "alright, let's go."

I grin at my best friend as we climb out of the car, for some reason he rushes to me and fixes my hair before we start walking to the door. The lights were all off in the house so I knew that no one else would be home, they must have all been out somewhere.

The front door is unlocked when Dale and I reach it so I open it and start walking up to Charlie's room but the house is so dark that I don't see where I'm going, it was a good thing I had been here so many times because I definitely would have tripped.

Suddenly the light turns on and I spin around so fast that I do almost trip in my heels.

A huge crowd of people stands together, all with huge smiles on their faces.

"Surprise!!!" They yell.